At long last, a diesel Grand Cherokee is here.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Research

What's New

Let's start with the obvious: the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee will offer a 3.0-liter turbo diesel engine. This new diesel mill will eclipse 30 mpg, giving you the ability to drive up to a whopping 720 miles in between fill-ups. This 3.0-liter turbo diesel engine is rated at 240 horsepower, a very healthy 420 lb-ft of torque, and the ability to pull 7,200 pounds. That's up 20 percent from last year's 6,000-pound tow rating. The diesel will be available on the Summit, Overland, and Limited Grand Cherokee models. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but expect the diesel variant to cost a little more than the V-8 model.

Stylistic changes include headlights that look like they're ripped right off the Chrysler 300 when you opt for the Summit and high-horsepower SRT trims. Other exterior styling shake-ups include a new smaller seven-slot chrome grille, a new font on the doors, redesigned taillights, and unique bumper and interior accents for the Summit trim. Fuel economy also gets a boost with the welcome addition of the eight-speed automatic transmission. All V-6 models mated to the eight-speed automatic transmission will see a 2 mpg bump while the V-8 sees a more modest 1 mpg increase.

In addition, the 470-horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 will now have an eight-speed automatic, replacing last year's five-speed. SRT president Ralph Gilles says it will be faster and more refined, and it'll have exclusive new touches like an SRT-branded steering wheel. Jeep representatives say the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee will go into production in March, with orders starting to come in to showrooms starting in April.

Who It's For

If you've been tasked with hauling around a family of five or less, there's not much better out there than the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Grand Cherokee is capable of climbing up a driveway covered in snow and ice without issue while transporting you in a comfortable interior. Segment competitors truly do cross over, from the off-road capable Toyota 4Runner to the on-road only Hyundai Santa Fe and even into smaller luxury crossovers like the Mercedes-Benz GLK. However, the Grand Cherokee is the only vehicle in its class—midsizers—to offer a diesel, and the only one to also come in a rip-roaring 470-horsepower SRT8 version.

Key Features

The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee is packed with new features and stylistic tweaks, including:

Upgraded interior throughout with a new sepia-colored interior scheme for the SRT model that complements the black color it's always had

What We Think

It's pretty easy to see that the 2014 Grand Cherokee is a stud thanks to everything the lineup includes. If you want a little poshness with your off-roading, then the Summit is a good fit. If you want to own an SUV that can keep up with the best of them without being too flashy, the folks over at SRT would like to speak with you. Like those before it, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee will have little trouble finding a new home. The addition of the available diesel engine separates the Grand Cherokee even more from the rest of the segment, as it idled on stage with an eerie silence. We could barely tell it was running. While it's still a ways out from hitting the production line, we can't wait to get our hands on the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a diesel engine. While it likely won't overtake the 3.6 Pentastar engine as the volume seller, there's a good chance it'll be right up there with the SRT8 for our favorite.

This is by far one of the best redesigns of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We wrote a great blog article covering the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with all of it's available engine options and improved suspension modifications expected for the 2015 model. Jeep has also mentioned on improving the structure of the Jeep to make it "strong", along with independent front and rear suspension to handle anything that driver may throw at it. Read more about it here: http://rt18chryslerjeepdodgeram.com/2014/01/02/2015-jeep-grand-cherokee-coming-soon-rt-18-auto